


When Rex Met Twink

by DarkVictory



Series: The Boogie Nights 'Verse [3]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: AU, Fluff, Fluffy, Fun, M/M, Porn Star AU, Silly, but it's still silly fluffy fun, but then it gets a little serious, dealing with the aftermath of daryl's torture in the sanctuary, ex-porn stars, i mean this is me for cryin' out loud i can't even do serious, yes this had to happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-09-01 14:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16767238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkVictory/pseuds/DarkVictory
Summary: Daryl and Paul both used to be porn stars.  Who worked together.  Which makes running into each other in the apocalypse reeeaaallllll awkward.





	When Rex Met Twink

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to Syrabylene who suggested this! She is an amazing cheerleader for this fandom!!

***

It was hard to tell which of them was more shocked at that gas station. Daryl didn’t need Twink to pull down his bandanna to know it was him. Those damn eyes were too distinct to ever forget. And Paul had instantly recognized Rex, even with the shaggy hair and goatee; there was no mistaking that gravelly voice. 

No discussion was needed for them to both pretend not to know each other. Paul almost felt sorry for Rick being out of the loop. But even Rick seemed to sense there was something odd between them, judging by the way he kept swerving the car. Daryl was about ready to strangle him for it, but was more preoccupied with what the hell would happen when they got to Alexandria. After all, what do you do when you were an ex-porn star whose former scene partner had just appeared?

***

“It’s no problem, I’ll watch him, you get some rest.” Paul could hear Daryl talking to Rick outside the room he was pretending to be unconscious in, and sat up just as Daryl returned.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Daryl hissed.

“Surviving in an apocalypse, what do you think?”

“You can’t be here!” Daryl paced the room, looking harried.

“And yet, you and your pal tied me up and brought me here.”

“Seriously, man, if anyone here finds out—“

“You think I’m going to tell them?!” Jesus asked incredulously. “Why the hell would I do that?”

“How the fuck should I know, I don’t  _ know _ you!”

Paul burst into laughter suddenly. “I forgot how weird that is. You have literally licked my asshole but you don’t know me.”

Daryl blushed furiously. “Well, it’s true. I didn’t even know your real name until a few hours ago.” He stopped pacing and squinted at Paul. “Wait, is that your real name? Or were you fucking with us?”

“It’s real.”

“Great, well,  _ Paul _ , I’ll untie you and we’ll act like you escaped and I’ll be the one to go looking for you but say I couldn’t find you.”

“Whoa whoa, why would we do that?”

“Why  _ wouldn’t _ we do that?”

“Because you have a good community and so do I, and we can help each other.”

“We don’t need any help—“

“Yeah, you do. You look half-starved,” Paul said bluntly. 

“I’m fine. We’re fine.”

“Because people who are fine spend a day desperately chasing a truck full of food?”

“Shut up.”

“Daryl—“

“No, you know what, you can stay tied up until morning and I’ll convince Rick that we should just set you loose somewhere and have nothin’ more to do with you.” He stormed out, slamming the door behind him, ignoring Paul’s protests.

***

A day later, at Hilltop, while Maggie was negotiating with Gregory, Jesus got Daryl alone around the back of Barrington House.

“So, I know I went against your plan but I hope you see that it’s going to be good for both of our communities and—“ He was cut off by Daryl grabbing him by the shirt and slamming him against the wall of the house.

“You sneaky little shit,” Daryl seethed. 

“You’re really going to keep being mad at me?” Paul said calmly. “You know this is a good thing. Hell, you couldn’t even help bargaining on behalf of your people.” He saw Daryl’s expression soften. “Communities need to work together; there’s a reason that’s the way it was done before. And I think you know that even if you don’t want to admit it.” He smiled slyly. “Maybe this temper tantrum was just an excuse to get your hands on me.”

“Dream on,” Daryl spat.

“Oh, I have. On those cold, lonely nights, memories of our scenes together kept me very warm.” He pushed a knee between Daryl’s legs. “You can’t deny we were really great together.” Daryl scoffed. “We were. I watched your stuff with other guys, none of it was  _ nearly _ as hot as our scenes.” He leaned in closer and lightly grazed Daryl’s ear with his teeth. “Are you with anyone? ‘Cause I’m not. Now that our communities will be seeing more of each other, maybe we could—“

Daryl pulled away suddenly. “Nah, I’m good. I’m sure you can find someone else to fuck around with here.” He walked away before Paul could even protest.

Paul slumped against the wall, wondering how the hell he had ended up in the same position he was in with Daryl ten years ago. 

_ “Rex, wait up!” Paul jogged to catch up with the older man who waited at the exit door. Once he reached him, however, he wasn’t sure what to say. He had been trying to get up the nerve to ask Rex out the last couple of times they had worked together, and had convinced himself that today was the day but now he was faltering. Rex was very gruff and quiet and standoffish, really, which while intriguing to Paul, also made it intimidating to ask him out. “Um...great scene today, huh?” _

_ Rex shrugged and pushed open the exit door, Paul following him into the parking lot. “S’alright, I guess.” _

_ Paul’s eyes widened. “Just alright?” He thought today’s scene had possibly been the hottest sex of his life and Rex had deemed it ‘alright’? _

_ Rex avoided meeting Paul’s eyes. “Whaddaya want me to say? It was good, fine. It was work.” He hurried over to his motorcycle. “Any other questions, officer?” _

_ Paul’s heart sank but he was determined not to show it. “No, I just...just thought I might request you for scenes more often.” _

_ Rex finally looked at Paul, narrowing his eyes. “Why?” _

_ “Because I think we work well together. Despite your opinion.” Paul couldn’t help being a little testy. _

_ Rex scowled and started up his (loud, obnoxious) motorcycle. “Don’t trouble yourself,” he muttered, just barely loud enough for Paul to hear before he drove away. _

_ Paul took a moment to blink back a few tears before heading to his car. _

After that disastrous conversation, Paul had never had another scene with Daryl again. After a few months, he had asked around and found out that Rex/Daryl had asked not to be paired with him anymore. It had stung more than Paul had wanted to admit. He’d decided to take it as a sign that he should finally get out of the industry and had left Atlanta and moved to Baltimore with a friend.

He hadn’t counted on ever seeing Daryl again. Or having feelings for him again. And he definitely hadn’t counted on getting his heart crushed by Daryl again.

***

“So, the bathroom in here is pretty tiny, but the water’s actually lukewarm, which is a bonus in Hilltop.” Paul fussed with taking off his gear, looking around his trailer and carefully not looking straight at Daryl. He wasn’t quite sure how to act around Daryl after seeing him bash a Savior’s brains out. But he was pretty sure Daryl would want to get out of his Sanctuary getup and wash the evil of that place off of him. “The ceiling of the shower is just high enough for me so you might have to crouch a bit—or, wait, do you wanna use one of the Barrington showers? They’re bigger and—“

“No!” Daryl seemed to recoil from his own too-loud reply. He cleared his throat and then spoke quieter. “Here’s good.”

“‘Kay,” Paul whispered. “There’s towels in there already. I’ll go find you some clothes.”

“Can’t I just wear yours?” Daryl asked anxiously.

“Um, a shirt, yeah, I have some that are too big, but my pants definitely won’t fit you.” Daryl looked surprisingly crestfallen so Paul rushed to reassure him, “I’ll find you some pants then we can pick out one of my shirts for you, okay?” Daryl gave a small nod, eyes back on the floor. “Okay. You get started in the shower, and I’ll be back real quick, okay?”

Paul tore through the spare clothes closet in Barrington faster than he thought possible, grabbing a dark pair of khakis in Daryl’s probable size. He had thought Daryl would want to be left alone, considering what he’d been through and how reticent he was in general. But instead Daryl didn’t seem to want Paul to leave him at all.

When he returned to the trailer, the shower was running and the bathroom door was slightly open. Paul knocked gently and quietly informed Daryl he was placing a pair of pants on the sink for him, then retreated into the living room to wait. He pulled out a few shirts he had that would probably fit Daryl and was giving them a smell-check when Daryl came in, wearing the khakis and a towel wrapped around his shoulders.

“Oh good, those fit perfectly. Here, why don’t you try this one, it’s probably the cleanest.” He held out a dark blue button-down shirt. Daryl took it but hesitated, gripping the towel tightly. “Daryl...if this is about your scars... I know they made sure not to show them on camera but I did see them.”

Daryl let out something like a chuckle. “I forgot. I...think that’s the first time I forgot that we...y’know.” He dropped the towel and pulled on the shirt, immediately rolling the sleeves up above his elbows. 

It fit, but just barely. Paul tried not to stare at how the fabric strained over Daryl’s chest and biceps. He swallowed hard and opened his mouth to say something, not even sure what, when he heard a commotion outside. He pulled open the trailer door and heard someone running by say something about Alexandria. He smiled at Daryl. “I think your family’s here.”

***

Things were very different after Daryl’s escape from Sanctuary; even his family was puzzled by his behaviour. He was even quieter than before, and was obviously haunted by his time with the Saviors—which everyone had expected—but he clung to Jesus with a fierceness that surprised everyone. He chose Jesus to accompany him on missions during the war, and moved into Jesus’ trailer. Rick had of course wanted his brother by his side as much as possible during the war, and was hurt that Daryl preferred Jesus’ company. Michonne wisely pointed out that he should just be happy that Daryl was connecting with  _ anyone _ , given his tendency to bottle up trauma, and Rick had to admit she was right. 

After the final battle, Daryl had flatly told that Rick that while they would always be brothers, he wouldn’t live at Alexandria as long as Negan was there. In his anger, Rick had accused Jesus of planting resentment in Daryl’s head and driving a wedge between them. Jesus had informed Rick that he and Daryl hadn’t actually spoken about it at all but that he wasn’t surprised by it, seeing as Rick had single-mindedly decided to spare a man that had tortured his supposed “brother” and hadn’t even apologized for it or acknowledged the pain he was causing with his decision. Jesus hadn’t waited for a response, just climbed behind Daryl on his motorcycle, and the two sped off. 

After that, Daryl had only come by Alexandria to trade supplies and never spent the night. He made it clear to Rick that Hilltop was his home now.

***

“So who was your worst lay in the business?” Paul asked with a wicked grin. He was sprawled all over the passenger side of the box truck’s bench seat, surrounded by stale snack foods. Maggie had sent them on an extended scouting and scavenging trip, and that meant a lot of dull driving through rural southern Virginia. 

Daryl took his eyes off the road to throw Paul a look. “What if I said you? Would you stab me?” 

Paul threw a handful of peanuts at a smirking Daryl. “Maybe! Because I’d know you were lying and just being an asshole.”

“Fine, I’d have to say...ugh, that guy Lazar.”

“Oh my god, I remember him! The one name thing was so stupid and he took it so seriously!”

“Well, he also couldn’t suck dick worth a damn.”

“Really? I never worked with him.”

“Also the lousiest kisser I ever had.”

“Oh man, I’d pick Chad Chadwick for worst kisser. So slobbery.” Paul shuddered.

“Oh yeah! Lazar was slobbery too but he also used to work in the teeth in a really bad way.”

“Ouch. He also had that perms-stubble look, which I hated. Either shave, or commit and grow real facial hair.”

“Yeah, you took that and really ran with it.”

Paul grinned. “I know I’m not the twink I used to be.”

“This is better. Always felt like I was robbin’ the cradle before.”

“Well, that was the point, to look all young and innocent. Guess I decided to rebel after I left the industry. They probably wouldn’t want me now.”

They definitely wouldn’t want me now.” Daryl snorted.

“What? You’re crazy, age has only made you more attractive! It suits you. You finally look comfortable in your own skin.”

Daryl blushed and cleared his throat. “So who was your best lay in the biz?” 

“You, of course,” Paul said, puzzled. Daryl whipped his head around in surprise. “I thought I made that obvious. Not only when I propositioned you behind Barrington but ten years ago when I said I’d request you more. What did you think I meant?”

“I dunno.” Daryl was barely audible over the truck’s engine. “Thought you were just messin’ with me.”

“Both times?!”

“Well, shit, no one ever requested me back then! No one was hot for my scrawny, scarred, redneck ass! I was always shocked as shit that I got any work at all!”

Paul was aghast. “Wow. I had no idea you didn’t know how hot you were. Well, are.” Daryl scoffed. “I’m serious, Daryl. I meant every word I said back then. I thought we were amazing together. And you were...well, unimpressed, to say the least.”

“Nah, it...it wasn’t you...it’s just...it was just work for me, man. I would shut off my brain and just do it.” Paul was looking at him with concern. “And then you come along with those big cartoon puppy eyes...and always makin’ eye contact, trying to make it special or somethin’. Apparently not realizing that some of us weren’t in love with the job.”

“Daryl…I’m sorry. I’m so sorry if I ever made you uncomfortable. I promise you that wasn’t my intention.” Paul swallowed around a lump in his throat.

“Now don’t get all upset, I chose to do the damn job, okay? It’s just...never been into just fuckin’ around with guys. I had this...boyfriend. When we were teenagers, and it was...the best.” Daryl kept his eyes on the road but Paul could see a sheen of tears. “And after that ended, I just didn’t like hookin’ up at the clubs or in parks or whatever. I wanted what I had before but I ain’t what anyone would call a catch so it’s not like anyone was interested.”

“But I was!” Paul blurted. “Why do you think I kept batting my googly eyes at you?! Why I wanted to request you?”

“‘Cause you were messin’ with me—“

“No! Hell—I wanted to ask you out all proper and shit but you seemed so lukewarm about our scenes, I figured you didn’t like me! Especially when you asked not to be paired with me anymore, that was a pretty big signal.”

Daryl brought the truck to a stop and put it in park before turning to look at Paul properly. “I asked not to work with you anymore because...well, ‘cause I was starting to like us together and figured it didn’t mean nothin’ to you.” He chewed on a fingernail and mumbled, “Didn’t wanna get hurt.”

Paul slid closer to Daryl. “And when I hit on you at Barrington?”

“Thought you just wanted a fuck buddy.”

“And that’s my fault. The way I did it, it certainly didn’t scream ‘I want something long-term’.”

Daryl looked up through his bangs. “So...do you?”

Paul nodded. “More than ever. Since you came back from the Sanctuary and we’ve gotten closer...I figured you just wanted a friend, though.”

“I  _ needed _ a friend, then. And you knew all the worst shit about me and still stuck around. And then you turned out to be so damn great, ya jerk.”

“I’m… sorry?”

“Well, I was mad ‘cause I thought there was no way you actually liked me.”

Paul impulsively pressed his lips to Daryl’s for a quick kiss. “Do you believe it yet?”

Daryl gave a small smile. “Maybe…”

Paul grinned and kissed Daryl again. “How about now?”

“Gettin’ closer, maybe.”

Paul cupped Daryl’s face in his hands. “That’s fine, I got all the time in the world to convince you.”

***

**Author's Note:**

> I'm merrymerricat on tumblr, come say hi!


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